To The East Side

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Today's plan was to make our way over to the eastern and wetter side of the island with the highlight of the day being zip-lining. Driving along Highway 190, we made our way up the slopes of Mt. Hualalai and through the barren landscape of the interior. After the town of Waimea, the landscape quickly transformed to verdant and lush vegetation. Making our way down the Hamakua coast of the island along Highway 19, we made a quick stop at Akaka Falls State Park. It was a relatively quick half mile hike along an uphill trail through the rainforest shaded in wild orchids, bamboos, and draping ferns. The trail eventually leads you to one of Hawaii's most famous waterfalls, Akaka Falls which plummets 442 feet into the gorge below. We soaked in the view before continuing on the trail to have a glimpse of another waterfall, Kahuna Falls. This waterfall was definitely a disappointment as it was barely visible from the viewing point. From Akaka Falls State Park, we made our way to the nearby Skyline Eco Adventures where we would have our zip-lining adventure. Our group consisted of about 15 people of all ages as we were all fitted into our harnesses and helmets. Piling into a large van, we made our way through some dirt paths outside of the small town to some banana fields where the first zip-line was. The first zip-line was very short and was really more of a practice run so that we could all get used to the equipment and be given some quick instructions. At the first course, there were also some banana trees where our guides allowed us to pick and taste a few of them. The next few courses were relatively easy as they weren't anything stenuous or overly thrilling but they did provide great views of the surrounding farmland and Pacific Ocean. Our guides were extremely friendly and gave us good information on the history of the area as well as some of the crops that were being produced. The last 2 courses were the highlights as they were longer than the first 5 and definitely adrenaline rushing. The grand finale was about a mile long and zipped us over the forest canopy below and eventually over a waterfall. At the end we were provided some pineapples, bananas, and sugar cane to taste as we waited for everyone to complete the final zip-line and for the guides to pack up all our gear. The entire excursion lasted about 2 hours and was a great and thrilling way to get some adrenaline running through our veins. Afterwards, we made the quick drive over to Hilo where we grabbed an early dinner at Ken's House of Pancakes where we had Loco Moco, a Hawaiian specialty of white rice topped with a hamburger patty and a fried egg.



From Hilo, we began the long trek across the interior of the island along State Highway 200. Along the way, we made the decision to make the drive up to the summit of Mauna Kea. The road to the summit of Mauna Kea was steep to say the least. With the breaks on Lisa's car making strange squeaking noises, I was beginning to fear for our safety in this vehicle. Thoughts of what would happen if the brakes failed constantly ran through my mind especially while climbing this mountain in total darkness. At an elevation of 9,200 feet, we were only able to make it as far as the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy. Beyond this point, you had to have a four wheel drive and clearly this car we were all in was not going to make it. We pulled into the parking lot and when we got out, the temperature hit us like a ton of bricks. Dressed in t-shirts and shorts, we were unprepared for the 40 degree temperatures that awaited us at such a high elevation. Astronomers from the Center had set up high power telescopes out on the Center's patio and there were long lines to have a glimpse into what each telescope was pointing to. We stuck around for some of the discussions where the speaker used laser pointers to show us various constellations and how people used the night sky for navigation. Although it was all very interesting, the cold got the best of us and we returned to the car to make the drive back down the mountain. Continuing on State Highway 200 towards Kailua-Kona, we were detoured as a wildfire has broken out near the highway. The detour took us through a canyon shrouded in thick smoke that was beginning to fill the car. Once we were beginning to think we were going to die of asphyxiation, the smoke finally cleared. Having gone a good hour out of the way through Waikoloa, we didn't arrive back at the condo until sometime after 11pm.

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